The next column to be changed
on Wednesday, 23rd March 2005 carried Station Rd's last Alpha 1 - the rest of
the remaining 8 m columns having
Alpha 4s and
MA 90s fitted.

This Alpha 1 had a NEMA socket
fitted to the shoe. The shoe itself looked different to the others in as much as
the grub screws were situated lower down on the sides, so I was interested so
see this lantern up close. The Opticell looked clean except for a few lines of
dirt caused by the trees above it. The first two pictures show the lantern as it
appeared in Autumn 2004 (complete with
MA 50s in the background); the rest show the lantern on the date of its
removal (with Civics in the background).

The observant amongst you will
now be asking "What happened to column 35453?" Well, this is on the other side
of the road, but it is easier to do the lights on one side of the road instead
of continually swapping which side of the road you are on just because that is
how the columns are numbered. The green building behind the column is a
substation - owned by the electricity company and nothing at all to do with the
council.

I noticed this code banded to the
column (H40). It may be an old way of numbering the columns before the present
method was introduced.

I removed the door and had a look
inside the base compartment. The only difference between the base of this column
and those I'd already seen was that a new cutout had already been fitted and was
powering the installation. This had been done as a temporary measure - to keep
the lantern going until it was replaced.

As the column was set in the
tarmac of the pavement, a jackhammer was required. Ken and Doug can be seen
measuring out the area that would need to be removed. With the substation being
adjacent the column, there was the worry that cables might be buried near the
surface and so extra care was taken to ensure that the drill didn't damage them.

The tarmac was thinner than was
first thought and was actually only about an inch deep.

Fortunately, the only cables
found were for the column and a nearby signlight, so the digging out of the
column began. Shortly, enough soil had been removed for the column to be lifted
out of the ground.

Fortunately, the only cables
found were for the column and a nearby signlight, so the digging out of the
column began. Shortly, enough soil had been removed for the column to be lifted
out of the ground.

As the lantern was brought down,
I noticed that the top of the shoe had two pop-rivets fitted to it. This was
certainly different to
my own one and so I asked Ken if I could have it. He agreed and proceeded to
undo the grub screws (something usually unheard of as they have a tendency to
jam up over time!) and removed the lantern from the bracket. The label inside
the Opticell was different - it looked newer and carried a 'Thorn EMI' badge.
Perhaps this lantern was an early replacement of another Alpha 1...

The remains of a NEMA socket
could be seen on the bracket - it was in a poor state from being exposed for so
many years.

I didn't ask for the column and
bracket however, and so they were both cut up as before.

Again as before, the sections
were lifted up and loaded onto the HIAB.

The new column had to be spun
through 180 degrees after it came off the HIAB, much to the concern of motorists
driving on the road below!

The lantern was then wired up. I
took this picture just before the lamp and cell were fitted.

I moved the Alpha 1 out of the
way and shortly afterwards, the new lantern was prepared for fixing. This
created an interesting comparison between the old and the new.

The cable was passed down the
column and the lantern positioned on the spigot. As expected, the column was
then raised upwards, put into the hole, made straight and then the lantern was
wired up to the cutout.